Chase hook for printing presses



Marfi 2, 1954 A. KLUGE CHASE HOOK FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Oct. 6, 1951 ABEL KLUGE 39 ll llllg 29 |9 E A T T O R N EYS Patented Mar. 2, 1954 CHASE HOOK FOR PRINTING PRESSES Abel Kluge, Woodbury Township, Washington County, Minn., assignor to Brandtjen and Kluge, Inc., St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Application October 6, 1951, Serial No. 250,104

My invention relates to improvements in chase hooks for printing presses.

In the conventional platen printing press of the Gordon type with which this invention is particularly concerned, a chase or frame for the type used in producing the printing impression is on the bed of a press with two otherwise unengaged hands and that task is rendered exceedingly difficult when one or the other of the operators hands becomes necessarily occupied in manipulating a chase hook while the chase is being placed on or removed from the press bed.

The present demand for ease and speed in production calls not only for lightening the burden of a press operator, but also in quickening his work in applying a chase to and removing the same from the bed of a press.

To such ends and for other purposes, it is an object of my invention to provide a simple, durable and relatively inexpensive chase hook which is readily applicable to the bed of a printing press, which is unfailingly capable of holding a leaded chase firmly and securelyin place on the bed during press operation, which is adapted to be quickly and easily locked and unlocked and in each case by a single movement of one hand, which when locked tends automatically to increase the force holding the chase in place on the bed, and which when unlocked remains securely in such condition unobstructing the path of a chase being passed to or from the bed.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter illustrated and/or described.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevational viewof a chase hook Qconstructed in accordance with my invention, the

same being shown as partly broken away and as Fig. 21s a plan view of the chase hook structure, press bed and chase shown in Fig. 1, the bed and chase being illustrated fragmentarily.

Reference being had to.the drawing, it will be seen that the bed of the printingpresstherein illustrated is designated by the reference numeral .the lower outer portion thereof.

by means of screws l9.

7 Claims. (Cl. 101-391) l0 while the chase shown as applied to said bed is designated in its entirety by the reference letter A. Conventionally, the lower rail ll of the chase A has a beveled surface I2 extending along This beveled surface 12 is adapted to engage a complementally beveled surface [3 on each of two relatively spaced bottom stops [4 each of which is fastened as by means of a bolt [5 to the press bed [0. With said lower rail H of the chase A bearing against said bottom stops It, said chase, particularly at the lower portion thereof, is firmly backed against the face I 0 of the bed I0.

The chase hook of the present invention releasably engages the upper rail 16 of the chase A in a manner firmly clamping the upper portion of the chase back against the face l0 of the bed It and at the same time solidly wedging the lower rail l I of the chase A against the bottom stops I 4 on the bed l0.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, a mounting B is supplied, the same consisting of a pair of brackets I! each having an attaching flange i8 thereon adapted to be secured to the back of the upper portion of the press bed In as Attached to the bed Hi, the brackets I! extend rearwardly therefrom in relatively spaced relation. Extending through said brackets ll beneath the ends thereof is a pivot bolt 20. On this bolt 20, a latch lever C is intermediately pivoted, said latch lever C having a forward arm 2! and a rearward arm 22, the

former forwardly overreaching the upper edge of the bed l0 and the latter extending rearwardly therefrom. At the extremity of the forward arm 21 is a downturned catch 23 having a biased bearing surface 24 complementing and adapted to V engage the beveled surface 25 of the upper rail I6 of chase A. At the lower edge of the rearward arm 22 of said latch lever C, said arm 22 has a low bearing surface 26 rearwardly thereof, while forwardly of said low bearing surface 26 said arm 22 has a high bearing surface 21. Between said bearing surfaces 26, 21 and jogging from one to the other thereof said rearward arm 22 has a riser surface 23 forming an abutment which is herein at times referred to as a riser-abutment.

To the rear of the latch lever C is a cam 29 of generally segment-like form, the same having a mounting boss 3|] formed with a bore 3i therein. A cam shaft 32 is journaled at its inner end in both of the brackets I? and that portion of said cam shaft 32 between said brackets is received in the bore 3! of the cam boss 30, said boss being keyed to said cam shaft 32 as by means of keyits retracted position-andfree it for advancement pin 33. At the outer end of the cam shaft 32, which preferably extends to a point even with the side of the press bed It, said cam shaft 32 is fitted with a finger piece in the form of a pin 34 for turning said shaft in direction to retract the cam 29. Saidcam 2,9 has a nose portion provid ing a sttp tfirase 35 extending ti-so tens otf th'e cam and also has a cam surface 36 extending risingly rearwardly from said stop surface 35.

The latch lever C is tiltable forth and baclcon the pivot bolt 20 from an inoperative position, as shown in dotted lines inl ig. l, to an operative position, as shown in solid lihesin said Fig. 1

In the operative position of the latch lever C, its

forward arm 2|, through the catch 23 thereon, engages and clamps the chase A in place cnthe bed In while in the inoperative position or said latch lever C, the said forward arm 2| thereof 'is stationed clear of the chase A and the path customarilv followed in removing it from and placing onthcbean t t H The can; 29 is movableforth and tack about theaxis of the cam shaft 32 froina retracted positiq i 19W o d 'es f t advanced position, as shown solid lines in said ,A double -acting tension spring 3'! is interposed between the forward arm 2} of the latch lever C and th cam 2 h if n a i a in 37 be causation. a q qi 'e b n p t c rom he sewers roti q e s m the rear end of said spring 3'! being caught on an anchoring pin SQprojectihg from the tail portion of said 70am 2-5. Stretche d between said anchor- .ifl ins 335. QifihQSPKiil is 1 3. digposjejd .a veth X .9 P1 9 iY F b f h l lev r m it ta de 95 13 l s te the 29 bu al o to. ti t the la v'sf 1 M i operative position thereof. Whensaidlatch lever c tilts min s ir tti anf t iriipiffafiie tqs tioaue srth a finjb s j 2 3?, the low bearing surface 2 o f said latch lever tomes into contact, with thecarn surface of tl'iecafn 29 in theretracted position thereof thereby arresting such tilting of said latch ll everC when it eac e its aidfin se e lf P l i 551s fnos tin 9 it ejlai u tlit fg as r tm -8. he eon is ese se brwp u f-a '5, o the retracted carnfls wh eby said "is 'held latched in its'retracted position against 'thjeaction of saidspring 31. "rota atti it jetsm 29 from under. the 36????35? t f fipf i i3 d9 W sure-of the operatorsfharid isb'rou'ght ag'ai end of the forward arm H i v pressure of the hand initiates "movement of said latch lever C -frorn its inoperative jto its'operative position, thereby disengaging the riserabutmcnt 28 of said latch lever Cfr'om'the stop isurfa'ce 35j0f the cam 2-9. Being'ieiidlfd free to tum under t e c on 9 h ries ca 129 is advanced by said spring. whereupo the cam surface 3% on said cam coat-ts with the'hi'gh the it i to its operative position whereinithe'catoh '23 clamps the chase A against the bed Iii. Under the. cam-advancingactionof thesp ring 3'1, the

latch lever c is reliably held filffinly iil erase flocking position, its grip on the chase Abe'ing intensified rather than weakened byvibrations occurring in the operating press. To relea sethe latch 1ever Q for tilting mo veinent froin'its operative to the inoperative position thereof 5 inder the action of the spring 37, the finger piece "34 "surface on set movement tr on the cam shaft 32 is manipulated to turn the cam 29 counter-clockwise, as seen in Fig. 1, from its advanced position to its retracted position.

From the foregoing, it is seen that in a printing press fitted with an embodiment of my invention, a press rnan with a simple movement of either harild can readily cause the chase lock h latch lever C to be tilted into its inoperative position and likewise can cause said latch lever to be tilted into its operative position. Also it is seen that ffiy invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms of simple, durable, inexpensive and eificient ru'ctfoii land in forms of unitary nature readily applicable "to the beds of printing presses.

Changes in thespecific form of the invention, as herein described, may be made within the scope of what is names without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isi I 1. A chase hook comprising a mounting adapted to b 'seci'ired tojthe bed of a printing press, a latch lever pivoted on said mounting and tiltable 'f ioina'i'i operative position to an inoperative position tm'a b'a'cl; again, said latch lever having a hooked forw rd arm and a rearward arfn, said forward am being adapted in the operative posit'ion'of said latch lever to engage and clamp place a chase operatively disposed on the befd of a press and adapted in the inoperative position of said latch lever 'tos, no clear of the'chase and the normal path of'mdveinent tliereofto and its place an the be'ii, the rearward arm of said latch lever having a lotv bearing surface rearwa1dly th ereof, a high bearing surface forwardly 'of'saidlow bearingsurf e an'dari'ser-abut eat btivehsaid teams 5 ces, a c mfsiii ported on 'sata'situntmg rot-"tum 'g mote en't forwardp itionand rearwardlyinto I s a ts r'n havmg a stop surf 'ace extending radiall erect and having a'cajm surface extending -'risingl'y rearward from said stop surface, adquble ati'ng tension spring fasft "one end to the ward arm of th ""vt afi ati st e d'to ai m a spring tending both to "advance the "cam and "to tilt id lath le' er nto its inoperative po t on, the low 'bariii face or said latch lev'er being adapted to engage leve Si op 'ative jpbsiti'o'n, saidst'op m lb 'ng adapted in tlfejf'etracteii position r hefcam'aniiinthe i operative 'position of the latch lejverto engage riserabut'innt on the latch lever ahdfhol'dfthe dam retracted tga'ts't "the action bffsaid spriri'g, said risereabiiti ri'ent b g adapted to be disengaged from "said "top surface by manua ly "initiatin the latch lever "toward its-operative position thereby freeing the tam 'for a s-lastement under the action of said spring, 'sfa'id 0am bearing surface 21 on the latch leverg, "causing I 'siir ce o ffthe adaptedwhenthecam 1 said latch lever to continue its tilting and forcing '65 isal c'efd to'c'o'act with the'highbjearings'urof Said spring to "ne the l'at'ch'levhfor-retui'nto "itsf'inoperativeposition iiiifder the actidn-Ef said tiltablefrom aii' operative positiBntoEh iii-assti h ca'mfs'urfacefof "their? tract c n ata arr t the tilting of the latch S ative position and back again and having'a hooked forward arm and a rearward arm, said forward arm being adapted in the operative position of said latch lever to engage and clamp in place a chase operatively disposed on the bed of a press and adapted in the inoperative position of said latch lever to stand clear of the chase and the normal path of movement thereof to and from its place on the bed, the rearward arm of said latch lever having a low bearing surface rearwardly thereof, a high bearing surface forwardly of said low bearing surface and a riser-abutment between said bearing surfaces, said cam being adapted to be turned forwardly into an advanced position and rearwardly into a retracted position, said cam having a stop surface extending radially thereof and having a cam surface extending risingly rearward from said stop surface, spring means common to said latch lever and cam, said spring means tending to advance the cam and to tilt said latch lever into its said inoperative position, the low bearing surface of said latch lever being adapted to engage the cam surface of the cam in its retracted position and arrest the tilting of the latch lever under the action of said spring means when said latch lever reaches inoperative position, said stop surface on said cam being adapted in the retracted position of the cam and in the inoperative position of the latch lever to engage the riserabutment on the latch lever and hold the cam retracted against the action of said spring means, said riser-abutment being adapted to be disengaged from said stop surface by manually initiating movement of the latch lever toward its operative position thereby to free the cam for advancement under the action of said spring means, said cam surface of the cam being adapted when the cam is advanced to coact with the high bearing surface of the latch lever and force said latch lever into its said operative position, and

means for manually retracting the cam member against the action of said spring means to free the latch lever for return to its inoperative position under the action of said spring means.

3. A chase hook comprising a latch member and a cam both adapted to be mounted on the bed of a printing press, said latch member being movable forth and back from an inoperative position clear of a chase on the bed to an operative position engaging and clamping the chase in place on said bed, said cam being movable forth and back from a retracted position to an advanced position, a tension spring fashioned at one end thereof to the latch member and tending to move it into its -said inoperative position, said spring being fastened at its other end to said cam and tending to advance the same, said cam having a cam surface, said latch member having a first bearing surface adapted to engage the cam surface of the retracted cam and arrest movement of the latch member under the action of said spring when said latch lever reaches its inoperative position, said cam having a stop surface, said latch member having an abutment thereon, said stop surface being adapted in the retracted position of said cam and in the inoperative position of said latch lever to engage said abutment and hold said cam retracted against the action of said spring, said abutment being adapted to be disengaged from said stop surface by manually initiating movement of the latch member toward its operative position thereby to free the cam for advancement under the action of said spring, said latch member having a sec- 0nd bearinglsurfac'e, said cam surface being adapted to coact with saidsecond bearing surface upon the advancement of the cam and force said latch member into its said operative position, and means for manually retracting the cam against the action of said spring to free the latch member for return to its inoperative position under the action of said spring.

4. A unitary chase hook structure adapted to be mounted on the bed of a printing press, said structure comprising a latch member and a cam, said'latch member being movable forth and back from an inoperative position clear of a chase on the bed to an operative position engaging and clamping the'chase in place on said bed, said cam being movable forth and back from a retracted position to an advanced position, spring means acting upon the latch member and tending to move it into its said inoperative position, spring meansactin-g upon the cam and tending to advance the same, said cam having a stop surface, said latch member having an abutment thereon, said stop surface being adapted in the retracted position of said cam and in the inoperative position of said latch lever to engage said abutment and hold said cam retracted against the action of the spring means tending to advance it, said abutment being adapted to be disengaged from said stop surface by manually initiating movementof the latch member toward its operative position thereby to free the cam for advancement, said latch member having a bearing surface, said cam having a cam surface adapted to coact with said bearing surface upon advancement of the cam under the action of the spring means tending to advance it and thereby force said latch member into its said operative position, and means for manually retracting the cam against the action of said spring means tending to advance it thereby to free the latch member for return to its inoperative position under the action of the spring means tending so to move said latch member.

5. A chase hook comprising a latch member and a cam both being adapted to be mounted on the bed of a printing press, said latch member being movable forth and back from an inoperative position clear of a chase on the bed to an operative position engaging and clamping the chase in place on said bed, said cam being movable forth and back from a retracted position to an advanced position, a tension spring fastened at one end thereof to the latch member and tending to move it into its said inoperative position, said spring being fastened at its other end to said cam and tending to advance the same, said cam having a stop member, said latch member having a stop element adapted in the retracted position of said cam and in the inoperative position of said latch lever to coact with the stop member of said cam and hold the cam retracted against the action of said spring, said stop element being adapted to be disengaged from said stop member by manually initiating movement of the latch member toward its operative position thereby to free the cam for advancement under the action of said spring, said latch member having a bearing surface, said cam having a cam surface adapted to coact with said bearing surface upon the advancement of the cam and force said latch member into its said operative position, and means for manually retracting the cam against the action of said spring to free the latch member for return to its inoperative position under the action of said spring.

R- A ch'ase lmok e a dl and a nun sboth being named in be MOHRWQ W the bed of a. printing press, said latch memb being movabhe ioxth and back homer: inope t position ckear of in chase the bed operative zmsitiml n gin mndmamome machet nm te on bed, said cam being mflvalhle aforth and back from amtraetedoositionto M ham d-@ sition, *spring means common to said, filatch memher and .cam, Esaid spring meant beading to move the iatch member into its said izmerative position and tending to edvame the. h m latch e ber in the :inopemtive position thereof being adapted intefloekingly to engage the xete'acted cam and hold it retracted again t e. a ti n Bf said spring means, said iabeh being edamted to be disengaged from said gem hymenually rimtiatinlg movement thereof toward its 0D- erative position thereby to'firee cam for 2dvanoement under the action of said wr n means, said cam :upon the admnoement thereof being adapted to coact with said fiatch. and force it into its sat-id operative position, and means for manually retracting the against. the 0- tion of said spring means to flee the iatoh vmemher for to its inoperative position Imder the action of :saidspringmeazns.

'7. A chase hook comprising a latch member and a cam, both bein adapted to be mounted on the bed of a printing press, each thereof for movement relative to 10tih81.,58.id :latch member beingrmovablg iorthand back {a om an inoperative position of va, ehase on the bed to an ogzvertuzive position engaging and claim- 8 ing the hee; in place on fiaid bed, on} be- .meveble forth and hacktmm a, x'letpeoted poe sit-ion to an advanced poeitiop, yielding oam moving means tending to odyanoe the cam, said iatoh membei' hay-mg an abutment the reon, said a mih-av -ing an abutmentengaging element thereon adapted it the retracted positionyot the oat and tn the inoperative position of the latch member toengagethe abutment on said gatch member and hold the cam retraoted against the action of said yielding means, abutment on said latch member being adapted to be disengaged from said abutmeut-erzgagihg element on said ea-m by moving the iatch member toward its operative position, -suoh disengagement of stud abutment from said abutment-engaging element ireeng the earn from the latch member for the edvaneement of "said oam under the :aetion of said yielding means, .said 1ateh member having a bearing eta-Mace, said cam having a cam surface adapted to Coo-ct with said bearing surface upon advancement of the cam thereby to {once said -latoh member into its said operative position, end means for retracting the oam against the action of said yielding means to free the latch member for the {rem-m thereof to its inoperative position.

ABEL

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STA 'FES PATENTS Number Name fiajte 40,154; catty A r. 16. 1839 597,928 Burnmm Jan. .25, 1898 

